More than 11 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity have been installed in Japan over the past two years, when the country’s notable feed-in tariff incentive plan was launched, according to the country’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

To be exact, the number was 11,090 megawatts — installed in the period from July 2012 to the end of June 2014. Of that total figure, 10,880 MW of the installed capacity was via solar energy projects.

As it stands currently, Japan has approved 71,780 MW of renewable energy projects, with solar representing 96% of the approved capacity, according to METI data.

On that note, a 231 MW solar energy project is now in the process of being developed in western Japan, with General Electric Company and a number of partners borrowing 90 billion yen ($822 million) from a number of Japanese banks to fund the project. The project will be built in Okayama prefecture by GE Energy Financial Services, Toyo Engineering Corporation, and Kuni Umi Asset Management Co, according to a recent press statement. Construction is expected to begin in November, with an opening sometime in 2019.

Yasuyo Yamazaki, the president and chief executive officer of Kuni Umi Asset Management, stated: “In addition to the Setouchi solar project, we developed a mega-solar power plant in Mito-city Ibaraki Prefecture and started the construction of a woodchip biomass fuel power plant in Kawaminami-cho, Miyazaki Prefecture. Now we are planning a wind farm in Nakadomari-cho, Aomori Prefecture. With these projects, we are contributing to the Ideal Region Development with renewable energy.”

And Sushil Verma, a managing director and Japan business leader at GE Energy Financial Services, noted: “Japan’s favorable regulatory policies make solar power attractive and diversify the country’s power generation sources. For us, the Kuni Umi project expands our international and renewable energy footprints, which already include investment commitments of $1.8 billion in equity and debt in more than one gigawatt of solar power projects worldwide.”

In addition to financing, GE will also supply some of the inverters to be used in the project — which will mean the Japanese debut of the GE 1 MW Brilliance Solar Inverter.

The Middle Muir wind farm is a small wind farm — only 15 wind turbines generating a total capacity of 60. The new wind farm, to be located 2 kilometres from Crawfordjohn in South Lanarkshire, has the potential to power almost 28,000 Scottish homes and generate community benefit funding of £6.37 million over the lifetime of the farm. “The Middle Muir wind farm will create jobs both in its construction, and during its lifetime,” said Fergus Ewing, Energy, Enterprise and Tourism Minister. “In addition it will bring £6.37 million of community benefit funding for local communities and will also be able to produce enough electricity to power almost 28,000 homes.” The Middle Muir wind farm is set to create between 25 and 50 jobs, which may not seem much on the scale of things, but for Crawfordjohn, a “small village nestling in the hills of South Lanarkshire on the border of Dumfriesshire,” it could mean big things. “Wind farms, like Middle Muir, play an important part in helping Scotland reach its target of the equivalent of 100 per cent of electricity demand generated from renewables,” added Mr. Ewing. “Only yesterday we heard from the Department of Energy and Climate Change that Scotland’s renewable electricity generation in the first half of 2014 was 30 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2013. This overall increase is primarily due to a 50 per cent increase in hydro generation and a 20 per cent increase in wind output.” “We are already providing over a third of the UK’s renewable electricity generation and helping to keep the lights on across our islands at a time where there is an increasingly tight gap between electricity supply and demand,” explains Mr. Ewing. The continuing trend of small renewable energy projects in Scotland is indicative of the country’s commitment to renewable energy as a whole.

A new initiative announced today at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York took a major step to reduce dependency on fossil fuels in eastern and southern Africa at a time when regional demand for electricity is estimated to at least double over the next quarter century. Coordinated by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the initiative has aimed to deliver a cleaner energy mix for up to 4.7 million people on the frontlines of climate change in developing small island states.

While referencing in ﻿conjunction this development and another initiative proposed during the summit, Secretary-General ﻿Ban Ki-moon said "These initiatives will help reduce emissions and contribute to improved health, wealth and opportunity, and a life of dignity for all." (allafrica.com). The Secretary-General hosted the Climate Summit Tuesday in New York which helped mobilize resources and generated actions that will reduce emissions and build resilience to climate change.

At the Summit, 19 ministers from Africa endorsed the Africa Clean Energy Corridor (ACEC). If developed as planned, the initiative will advance the development of renewable energy projects used by the Eastern Africa Power Pool and Southern African Power Pool from its current 12 percent to at least 40 percent by 2030. (allafrica.com).

Four-fifths of all electricity in eastern and southern Africa is from gas, oil or coal. The switch away from carbon-bearing fossil fuels would save 2,500 metric tons of cumulative carbon dioxide emissions. The combined effort will also diversify resource availability, improve energy security and foster investment opportunities and job growth.

A recent press release of the initiative reported that "Cooperation on renewable energy deployment in the region would reduce generation costs by four per cent and nearly triple electricity supply, transforming the current energy mix of a large portion of the African continent." (allafrica.com)

The initiative was just one of the highlights of the one-day summit which Ban Ki-Moon has called an "unprecedented and important gathering" of more than 120 Heads of States and Government, business, and civil society.

In March of 2015, the first cross-continental flight will take place to inaugurate the Swiss-designed solar aircraft. This behemoth measures about the size of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet while weighing in no heavier than the standard minivan. Serving as the skin of the wings are 17,000 solar cells printed on a waterproof resin that is thinner than paper in order to power the plane. Two Swiss pilots will pilot the plane; Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg will take turns flying the one-man aircraft across the world. The duration of the trip will be about 25 days worth of flying over the span of several months. “After crossing the U.S. and completing an overnight flight, the aviators are now training to withstand flying non-stop for five days and nights to prepare for ocean crossings stuffed in a tiny cabin traveling as high as 27,000 feet at about 45 miles per hour. Corporate sponsors including Swiss watchmaker Omega and Schindler Holding AG are hoping the $160 million project will give a lift to renewable energies and power conservation in industry. Schindler is developing solar-powered elevators” (renewableenergyworld.com). The successful completion of this flight will symbolize a bright future for the travel industry. The revolutionary design of this plane serves to potentially alter the image of air travel for the foreseeable future as a self-sustainable, clean form of transportation. Although this is not their primary intention, it opens doors for future innovation. “’Today in our world, half of the energy we use is wasted because of old technologies, old engines, old light bulbs, badly insulated houses, badly run electrical heaters and things like that,” Piccard, 56, said. “What Solar Impulse shows is that solutions exist, they can be profitable and create jobs. That’s how you can motivate people. Suddenly you have companies who say there’s business to do.’”(renewableenergyworld.com). The paramount focus of this project is to showcase the potential of clean energy and restore the general public’s faith in alternative energy sources. The next step is to find a way to make the pilot as sustainable as the plane itself.

Signs demanding major corporations' divestment from fossil fuels lined the streets of New York City on Sunday afternoon during the highly attended People's Climate March. The march's influence was felt Tuesday during UN Summit on Climate Change as The Rockefeller Brothers Fund announced it would divest from fossil fuels. The Fund, which was amassed thanks to oil consumption, previously had invested 7% of its 860 billion dollar fortune in fossil fuels. However, they are the latest group to join Divest Invest Philanthropy – a coalition of more than 800 organizations, cities, educational institutions, religious groups and individuals divesting from fossil fuels and investing in clean energy. (tcktcktck.org). The group has declared a total divestment of $50 billion from fossil fuel assets including tar sands investments over the next five years. According to a new report by the group "As of September 19, 2014, 181 institutions and local governments and 656 individuals representing over $50 billion in assets have pledged to divest from fossil fuels. These institutions and individuals come from a diverse range of sectors and backgrounds, including universities, faith-based organizations, philanthropies, health-care providers, local governments, and NGOs. Since January 2014, the number of commitments by campuses, churches, cities, states, hospitals, pension funds, and other institutions—both in the United States and abroad—have more than doubled, from 74 to 180." (tcktcktck.org).This announcement has been the latest in the growing trend of the divestment and Fossil Free movement. Other notable organizations going fossil free include the World Council of Churches, the British Medical Association, Stanford University and the Ben and Jerry’s Foundation. (tcktcktck.org).Now major businesses that made their fortune from oil are divesting from fossil fuels. The signal is clear, fossil fuels are on their way out as the world demands investment in clean energy and a low carbon future.